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There could soon be more options to grab a coffee or pick up a pint of milk in your neighbourhood, if Toronto city council approves changes to zoning bylaws that would allow more small-scale businesses in residential neighbourhoods throughout the city. 

A non-profit daycare in south Ottawa is about to lose its provincial funding because it never signed up for the national $10-a-day child-care program, but the daycare argues it wasn't warned about the consequences until after the sign-up deadline.

An integrity commissioner's report recommending Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson be docked 30 days' pay lands in the lap of her colleagues on Tuesday at a time when some are calling for tougher penalties for repeat cases councillor misconduct.

A person has died in hospital after being struck by a vehicle in northwest Toronto on Monday evening, police say.

City officials broke ground on Monday on an affordable housing project that will be the first delivered under a new model where the city is the developer.

Toronto police are seeking suspects after a jewelry store in a shopping mall was robbed by people with hammers on Monday afternoon.

It is now 17 months since the death by suicide of Toronto educator Richard Bilkszto, but an inquiry into the matter ordered almost immediately by then Education Minister Stephen Lecce is still nowhere in sight. Information provided to the Bay Observer suggests the Ministry of Education promised an investigation into Bilkszto’s death and then suddenly backtracked and handed the responsibility to the Toronto District School Board, the agency the Minister said needed to be investigated.

Events prior to Bilkszto’s death

Bilkszto said he was publicly humiliated during an anti-racism workshop in 2021 conducted by Kiki Ojo-Thompson , CEO of the Kojo Institute after he challenged her statement describing Canada as  “a bastion of white supremacy and racism.” After the class, Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini, currently the Director of Education at the Hamilton School Board, at that time a TDSB superintendent, even thanked the KOJO Institute in a tweet for “modelling the discomfort administrators may need to experience in order to disrupt (anti-Black racism).” The tweet was removed after Bilkszto’s lawyers threatened legal action against Robinson-Petrazzini.

After the incident, Bilkszto, who had retired as a full-time principal, found he was not getting the supply principal assignments he had previously enjoyed. He said no one at the TDSB supported him as he was being berated and later, he went on sick leave for workplace harassment. His claim for back salary was supported in a decision by the Workplace Safety Insurance Board. Despite the ruling, family members said Bilkszto became increasingly depressed, and even though he was launching a lawsuit against the TDSB, he died before the case could proceed.

Lecce immediately calls Ministry investigation into TDSB treatment of Bilkszto, then abandons probe

A week after Bilkszto’s death Lecce put out a strong statement reading, “No staff member should ever be subject to harassment while in their place of work. This tragic incident only underscores the need for greater accountability of school boards and the necessity to ensure professional training is free from harassment and intimidation.  I have tasked my officials to review what happened in this instance in the TDSB and bring me options to reform professional training and strengthen accountability on school boards so this never happens again.”

But it turns out that within days of making that statement, according to documents obtained by the Bay Observer under Freedom of Information, Lecce quietly decided to allow the TDSB to conduct their own investigation, even though the board was presumably the focus of the probe. Just days after Lecce ordered a ministerial probe the TDSB announced they had launched their own investigation, hiring the consultant, King International Advisory Group, and apparently that was when the minister decided to allow the TDSB to be the lead player. Asked about the optics of the TDSB investigating itself, a ministry spokesperson suggested it had to do with the need to examine confidential personal records that were the property of the TDSB.

Competing pressures brought to bear about possible investigation

Around this time the government was getting pressure from individuals and organizations supporting anti-racism training, who feared a backlash that might threaten EDI training in school boards. A rally was staged at Queen’s Park on August 2 at which Shannon Liverpool of the group Parents of Black Children stated, “there is an active campaign to villainize and undermine anti-racism work in this province.” The speaker went on to accuse Bilkszto’s death as “a rallying point for right-wing opponents to dismantle the necessary and imperative anti-racism work.” Ministry officials monitored the rally and prepared a transcript for senior ministry officials. At the same time, Lecce received a letter from Ojo-Thompson defending her conduct of the workshop and alleging, without specifying “defamatory statements about our work and conduct of our staff.” In her letter, Ojo-Thompson revealed that the TDSB had filed a lawsuit against her company but had been discontinued. Interestingly, she wrote that she favoured a ministry probe as opposed to allowing the TDSB to do the work. A memo that was marked “approved by Patrick Case, Assistant Deputy Minister, Education Equity Secretariat” was prepared that stoutly supported the Ministry’s emphasis on EDI training in school boards.

At the same time, the Ministry was being warned that the TDSB should not be trusted to conduct the investigation. The Ontario Principal’s Council warned of a “perceived bias” if the TDSB were in charge, adding, ”there is a significant distrust of board staff regarding the extent to which the TDSB will share the full results of its investigation.” Lecce also got a letter from within the TDSB when trustee Weidong Pei called for a provincial review of the Board and the then Director of Education Colleen Russell-Rawlins, the first Black woman to hold the top job at the Toronto board, who retired last month. Dr Pei charged the TDSB had been marred by numerous scandals, in addition to the Bilkszto death. He described a “culture of fear,” stating numerous teachers and administrators have been placed on home assignment due to alleged accusations for extended periods, causing undue stress, humiliation and adding a significant financial burden to the school board.”

Ministry did not want decision to allow TDSB to investigate to become public

What is clear, is that the Ministry, for reasons not clear, did not want anybody to know about the change in plans, not even other government agencies. In September of 2023, the Provincial Ombudsman became interested in the proposed investigation into the Bilkszto affair. They made repeated attempts to learn about the progress of the investigation and requested meetings to discuss the matter. In September they were told “the ministry is exploring options for a review of school board training policies and practices.” A month later in response to a request for a phone conference the tone had changed and Ombud was told, “at this time I have no further information that can be shared. Thanks for understanding.” The Ombudsman tried again earlier this year in January, and received the response, “Thanks for your email and for following up! I have no new information to share with you. Once I do, I’ll make sure to reach out.” The Auditor-General on Ontario fared no better, asking with apparently no success for an update on the review. The correspondence sheds interesting light on the interplay between various government departments, where the ministry apparently stonewalled two agencies that possess investigative powers; not only declining to share information but arguably allowing the Ombudsman to continue to be under the impression a probe was underway when it was not.

As to where things stand now, the Ministry of Education spokesperson said the new Minister of Education, Jill Dunlop, “is aware of the situation,” and has reached out to the TDSB to find out where their investigation stands.

Ottawans will soon be able to ride the rails on the expanded Trillium Line for the first time since May 2020. The expanded north-south light rail line, including a new extension to the Ottawa International Airport, will officially open to the public on Jan 6.

A mistrial has been declared in one of two sexual assault cases involving former Woodstock, Ont., mayor Trevor Birtch. Birtch's right to a fair trial was violated after the Crown failed to disclose all relevant evidence to the defence before proceedings began, a judge in London ruled Monday.

The shock in Ottawa over Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland's sudden resignation from cabinet is being felt in her Toronto riding too, where residents say it seems indicative of the prime minister’s shrinking popularity. 

Matt Funnell was just promoted to the position in September. The chair of the police board described the matter as "confidential," saying only that the deputy chief has been suspended with pay.

Toronto police investigators are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a woman with dementia who has been missing for days and isn’t dressed for winter weather.

London Police released photos Monday of a vehicle whose occupant they believe could be involved in a dramatic shooting this past weekend outside of the city's busiest emergency room.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, saying in a statement that in recent weeks she and Trudeau have been at odds over the 'best path forward for Canada.'

Ottawa police say advances in DNA technology helped them find, arrest and charge a suspect in a 1996 stabbing death on the Portage Bridge.

Ottawa pundits are using the word “savage” to describe her resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Trudeau. In the letter she revealed that Trudeau told her Friday that she was out as finance minister and offered her another cabinet post. In her letter that was released on social media this morning she wrote, “Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet.”

In the letter she took aim at Trudeaus holiday GST suspension and the promise of $250 cheques calling the measures, “costly political gimmicks,” adding, “(Canadians) know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves.” She also acknowledged that she and the Prime Minister have “found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”

Her letter follows:

Dear Prime Minister,

It has been the honour of my life to serve in government, working for Canada and Canadians. We have accomplished a lot together.

On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the Cabinet.

Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet.

To be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.

For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.

Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs.

We need to take that threat extremely seriously. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.

That means pushing back against ‘America First’ economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring. That means working in good faith and humility with the Premiers of the province and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response.

I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach. They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end. But how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.

It is this conviction which has driven my strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending in ways that will give us the flexibility we will need to meet the serious challenges presented by the United States.

I will always be grateful for the chance to have served in government and I will always be proud of government’s work for Canada and Canadians.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues as a Liberal Member of Parliament, and I am committed to running again for my seat in the next federal election.

With gratitude,

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P.

In what's shaping up to be a seismic moment in Canadian politics, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday she's resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet. Here's the text of her letter.

Hamilton East Stoney Creek MP Chad Collins has gone public with news that he was one of 23 Liberal MPs who called for the resignation of Prime Minister Jusin Trudeau. In a news release Collins stated, “In October, I signed a letter with 23 other Members of Parliament from across Canada, asking the Prime Minister to step down and begin a formal process to replace him. It’s unfortunate that he declined to respond to our request. It’s obvious that Canadians across the country feel the same and want him to leave. Today, I publicly reiterate my request that the Prime Minister step down and initiate a leadership process to take our country in a new direction.”

Collins’ release follows a day of turmoil in Ottawa with Chrystia Freeland resigning from cabinet in a scathing letter that revealed Trudeau had asked her to step down Friday, offering her another cabinet post. On that same day the minister appeared to tear up when a Globe and Mail reporter aske her bluntly about Trudeau apparently losing confidence in her, and amid rumours that the PM was courting former Bank of Canada head Mark Carney to join the government.

Earlier today Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced he was leaving cabinet and politics to spend more time with his young family. In another development, Treasury Board President Anita Ananad was emotional when asked to respond to the Freeland resignation, saying she and the former minister were close friends and telling reporters she needed more time to process what had happened to Freeland.

There is also media speculation that two mor ministers could quit before the day is over.

Oxford County OPP are on the scene of a serious three-vehicle crash that sent a truck diver to hospital with life-threatening injuries Monday morning.

Ottawa is grappling with a political bombshell after Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister from Justin Trudeau's cabinet on Monday. CBC’s Lorenda Reddekopp has the latest details — and reaction.

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has made an arrest and laid charges after a stabbing involving two juveniles in Oakville.

On Saturday, at approximately 4:30 pm police were called to Memorial Park on Oak Park Boulevard for a report of a stabbing. A 13-year-old male of Oakville was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He has since been released from hospital.

The suspect was located and arrested by the HRPS on December 15 in Oakville. The accused and victim were known to one another and had arranged to fight in the park.

A 15-year-old male of Oakville has been charged with Assault with a Weapon and Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the 2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4777 ext. 2216.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

Hamilton Police are seeking the assistance of the public in locating a missing 30 year old female, Lorna Hicks.

Lorna was reported to be last seen at approximately 2:00 am on Friday December 13th 2024 in the area of Mt. Hope.  She is described as female, white, 5’3”, 150 lbs with shoulder-length dark brown hair and dark green/ brown eyes.  She typically wears rings on both hands.  Lorna is known to frequent restaurants and grocery stores in the area of Upper Paradise Rd and Stonechurch Road West in the City of Hamilton.

Police have been unable to confirm where Lorna Hicks may have gone and suspect she may be driving one of two vehicles registered to her:

 Green 2003 Subaru Forester- licence plate # CXLJ 381

 White 1999 Ford F250 pickup truck- licence plate # BR50388.

Anyone with any information that could assist investigators, are asked to call the Division 30 Staff Sergeant at 905-546-3886.

To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com.